In the last development cycle, 2005-2009, there were a number or projects built in Downtown Seattle. Lets look at 3 major high-rise towers completed around the same time and take a look at their sales, average price points and the cost per square foot. The 3 towers include 1521, Escala and Olive 8.

Listed in May of 2007, this 9,876sf space has been looking for an owner since President Bush was in office. It is still in shell condition ready to be designed. The current owner bought the space for $4,000,000 in November of 2004. That was 11 years ago. Millennium Tower was built in 2000 and features a total of 19 units. It is located on 2nd between Marion and Columbia.

There have been 16 sales in the building since the penthouse went on the market in 2004. The average sales price during that time was $2,059,063. In fact just 2 weeks ago, #1504 sold for $2,500,000. Will it sell? We think so, but hopefully for the owner it happens before another 7 years go by.

Just in case you were wondering – this Seattle condo went on the market: 407 weeks ago, that is 68,400 hours, 4,104,000 minutes and 246,240,000 seconds ago.

Picture of Unit #1902

SEARCH DOWNTOWN SEATTLE CONDOS

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http://www.urbancondospaces.com/93-active-condos-in-downtown-seattle-neighborhood-chart/#respondThu, 26 Feb 2015 15:21:42 +0000http://www.urbancondospaces.com/?p=15174
Condo lovers, we have created a few charts for your review. There are 93 active condo listings in Downtown Seattle. Here are a few of the take-aways:

Condos pricing is pretty evenly distributed across the board

There are only 27 condos priced under $500K

There are 5 active condos in South Lake Union

Denny Triangle currently has the largest allocation of active units in the Downtown.

If you take away the units at Insignia Towers (the only new-construction condo towers in Downtown) there are just 77 units for sale.

Olympic Block in Pioneer Square’s stands taller than most of its neighboring condo projects. Prominently located in the heart of Seattle’s original district, the steel and concrete structure has the iconic Pioneer Square Pergola and Totem Pole right outside of the front entrance. In 1985 the modern Olympic Block replaced the original 1890 Olympic Block building with massing. Designed by renowned architect Jim Olson, the 8-story structure offers only 15 residential homes, each with two designated parking spaces – a luxury not often available in this part of the city. Homeowners share an impressive outdoor terrace with with fantastic views of the city, Mt. Rainier, Puget Sound and Elliot Bay. Sales are scarce. Rarely on the market and in the heart of the Square – Olympic Block stands 8 stories above the vibrant and revived Seattle neighborhood.

Ok peeps. We are launching a new monthly update for Downtown Seattle condo sales. We will be tracking each month the number of sales in area (701 – Downtown Seattle). We will eventually roll out data for Queen Anne and Capitol Hill as well. For now, feel free to frequent our 2015 sales page that can also be found on the home page of the blog.

So, here you go. Click on the photo below and feel free to download or print the stats. We kindly ask that you do not distribute them as your own.

Lets examine the difference in renting an apartment versus a condo in Seattle. We’ll compare a 2 bedroom at Cristalla and a new construction unit at Premiere on Pine (8th and Pine)

If you are in the market for a rental there are a number of different buildings, floor plans, amenity packages and locations. In comparing these two rentals, you’ll see in our chart below, the rent per square foot is over a $1 more in the new apartment tower versus the condo tower. The apartment at Premiere is on the 34th floor but comes in at 400sf less than the Cristalla Condo.

The fundamental difference between renting an apartment vs a condo is that you deal with a management company versus an individual owner. Each has its pros and cons. One thing that has been very consistent over the last couple of years is that rents have gone up. The average rent in Downtown Seattle is $1,855.

According to data from the MID & DSA*,

Downtown Seattle has 32,281 apartment units and 13,058 condo units. The average size of a Downtown apartment is 638 square feet and the average size of a condo is 913 square feet…..The market vacancy rate for apartments in Downtown Seattle as of March 2014 was just 3.8 percent.

Built in 2001, The Ellington is a true urban experience located in heart of Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. The 12 story twin-tower condo project offers quintessential in-city living with an impressive list building amenities: 24 hour concierge, fitness center and spa, community room, wireless conference center, guest suites, hot tub, view terraces and even dry cleaning service. Located on 1st Avenue and Clay, homeowners are within walking distance to some of Seattle’s best restaurants, boutique shopping, charming cafes and coffee houses. Just blocks from the iconic Pike Place Market, Olympic Sculpture Park and Myrtle Edwards Park.

]]>http://www.urbancondospaces.com/the-ellington-condos/feed/0An Elementary School In Downtown Seattle Will Have To Waithttp://www.urbancondospaces.com/an-elementary-school-in-downtown-seattle-will-have-to-wait/
http://www.urbancondospaces.com/an-elementary-school-in-downtown-seattle-will-have-to-wait/#respondThu, 12 Feb 2015 17:50:01 +0000http://www.urbancondospaces.com/?p=15072

For those of you that missed our post late last week, we highlighted a story involving an auction for the Federal Reserve Building at 2nd and Madison. All in all, there were 8 bidders, driving the price of up to a final number of $16M.

Seattle Public Schools confirmed that they bid on the project but had budged just $6,000,000. The question is, who owns it and what is planned for the site? Could a developer work with the city to build a high-rise using the historic building as the base of the project? Or will it be a hotel developer that will gut and reuse the bones of the existing structure. Time will tell. In the meantime, the owners at Madison Tower should be paying attention.

You may recall that just 2 weeks ago we wrote about 3 new towers that have Escala surrounded. Well, just days after our post, we learned that a 4th tower may be constructed that will have a huge impact on 40% or more of the 31 story 2009 built Escala condominiums. The new site is where the Icon Grill currently sits at 5th and Virginia (see below). The proposal calls for a 50 story multi-family site. So if this project breaks ground it would be the second 50 story project proposed for this block – Altitude Sky Tower at 5th and Stewart is currently in planning. See the photos below or reference our past post describing each project.

Here is the photo we used in a previous post to show the locations of the 3 new towers expected to break ground.

Now here is a look at the new 50 story tower that was just announced (#4)

In our opinion, this could have a lasting impact on property values. Our reasoning is really simple. On the east-side of the building, this is not only an issue of view loss, but the shadow effect – literally the loss of natural light. Escala is only 31 stories. The two proposed towers that will border the north and eastside of the Seattle condo building are both projected to be 50 stories. There will be some corridor views in the south 1/3 of building see below – but unfortunately, if these towers move forward, the majority of the views and privacy (on North, Northeast and East) will altered. There is a space between the Westin Hotel, but with two 50 story towers being built right next to the building, we could see similar impacts to what happened to the Cosmopolitan years ago.

We’ve added Google Street Views to each site that correspond with the numbers in the picture above:

**UPDATE – Bidding is now up to $16,000,000 and the bidding date has been extended to tomorrow. **

Take a look at this site. It is the Federal Reserve located at 2nd and Madison and has been vacant since 2008. It is a 65 year old that is being auctioned off as we speak. The current bid is $14,100,000.

It could be Downtown Seattle’s first public school – if not, we could see a developer using the existing structure to build one of the city’s next high-rise buildings. It was recently given a historical designation making impossible to be torn down. Just recently, in November the Seattle School Board voted down a proposal to convert the project to an elementary school. Back in January, the Seattle Times reported that the school would be bidding on the project and would levy for funds to remodel the project in 2016.

The building behind this structure is Madison Tower/Hotel 1000. Most owners we speak with would obviously be in favor of a school versus a high-rise project that would impede views and limit privacy. We’ll have to see how it all shakes out. At this point, with 21 hours left of bidding, their are 8 bidders and the price of the property could go much higher. Stay tuned for more details.

The current height limit in this area of downtown is 400sf – Zoning Code DMC 240/290-400.

This area is considered the West Edge. Use our map below to identify 2nd and Madison. It sits directly East of Madison Tower.

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http://www.urbancondospaces.com/12th-man-edition-what-1-2m-buys-you-in-seattle-versus-boston/#respondThu, 29 Jan 2015 16:36:06 +0000http://www.urbancondospaces.com/?p=15033
Ok, 12’ves. Given the Superbowl matchup in the coming days, we are going to honor the Hawks and their fan base with a condo comparison featuring Seattle vs. Boston. We’ll compare condos at or around $1.2M.

Nord is a quintessential boutique building located in the heart of vibrant Pioneer Square. The low-rise vintage brick building is comprised of only 7 renovated loft-style homes. The renovation and conversion was completed in 2007 by the local development company Pioneer Property Group, who’s focus is preservation of pre-1940 buildings. Originally constructed in 1890 after the Great Fire, Nord first existed as the Thompson Hotel. Later, the Nord Hotel and named after Frank Nordquist. These vintage-contemporary homes offer an eclectic combination of modern
refinements and rich historic details from stainless appliances and Terrazzo countertops
to exposed brick walls and Romanesque double-hung windows. Homeowners share a
rooftop deck perfect for in-city entertaining.

If you currently live at Escala, don’t panic, but we think you should pay special attention to this post.

Here is the current landscape surrounding the 2009 built condo project. (Courtesy of Google Maps).

Now lets examine 3 major projects that are projected to built and will surround the luxury condo tower.

1. Permits were originally approved for a 43 story apartment tower. This site was purchased by Bentall Kennedy a Canadian firm and they have made plans for a high-rise apartment tower. From what I’m hearing, it will be a minimum of a 38 story apartment tower. This project sits just west of Escala and will alter the views to the West and Northwest.

2. Altitude Sky Tower – from our knowledge, this would be the first project in the city to mix hotel, apartments and condo. The developer is working on getting design approval for a 50 story tower. To put that in context, Escala is just 31 stories. Here is a rendering from the first round of design review with the city.

3. Finally, in recent news – in mid January, Chainqui Development bought the Sheridan, a 57-unit apartment building in the Belltown area at 2011 Fifth Ave., and the parking lot next door (5th and Virginia – *source PSBJ). This project is in the early design stage, but we expect the highest and best use will be a tower (likely apartment).

So what do you do? Contact us and we can answer any questions you may have.

Austin A. Bell is a historic Seattle landmark building located on 1st Avenue in the heart of Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. The original 1889 hotel was almost destroyed by a fire and only the strong brick and Terra cotta facade managed to survive. It was carefully restored from 1997-1999 when it was converted into a condominium complex with street level retail space. The lobby features wood columns with brick walls and original details and photos from the building’s early days.

Located among charming cafes, pubs, acclaimed restaurants and boutique shopping, homeowners enjoy quintessential urban living. Its just a short walk to Pike Place Market, theaters, museums and waterfront ferries. A charming rooftop deck features iconic Space Needle and city views. Complete with a Starbucks in the building’s street-level retail space, the lifestyle and convenience offered by this historic Seattle landmark is pretty tough to beat.

There are 4 units on the top floor of the Cosmopolitan. This penthouse (#3404) is one of them. It was once listed for a much as $1,499,950 in 2007 and recently listed for $1,325,000 in May of 2014. Now on the market for $985,000 0r $548 per square foot, it will be interesting to see if the new year brings the owners an offer. It has 1,684sf with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. Wolf, Miele and Subzero appliance package. See more details here: 819 Virginia St #3404